Zombies! Zombies! ZOMBIES!!!

I’m a zombie fan. What can I say. And as such, my love for Zombies has led me to create this little 1 minute and 35 second ode to the Zombie genre. It’s basically a mash up of the Dawn of the Dead remake and the True Blood theme song in attempts to imagine this hybrid as a TV show. I think it came out good. What do you guys think? Let me know.

(Also, little known fact, but I’m not much of a video editor, more of an aspiring screenwriter, but I think I still managed to capture some good editing spots on this video.)

Now on to the main event. For your pleasure, here is my Top 10 Favorite Things that have to do with Zombies.

(#10) Fan made Zombie films – What makes Zombies such an awesome genre for many is the fact that Zombie movies can be made into a reality despite not having a big budget (And in some cases, a good script). Everyone and anyone with the will and desire can make a Zombie fan film. Now in some cases that’s not always a good thing, but then again, some fan films can absolutely blow away the genre . Take this film, “Darktimes” as an example. It’s Christmas time, there are lots of Christmas music and best of all, plenty of guns and zombies. Sounds like a perfect Zombie fan film to me. Check it out and you decide. Oh and BTW, the ending is absolutely classic. Trust me.

(#9) Low Budget Zombie Movies that Surprise You – Don’t get confused here, Doofus. I’m not talking short fan films, but actual low budget short Zombie movies. And when I say “low budget short Zombie movies”, I mean movies like this UK flick named COLIN. Shot on a miniscule budget, the filmmakers set out to make a zombie movie they could be proud of. On some levels they failed (Story wise), but on others (like the bone chilling, claustrophobic, 100 zombies home invasion scene) they hit the ball out of the park. Be afraid of zombies, but don’t be afraid to give give a low budget zombie movie a try. Colin; It’s a low budget movie that I highly recommend.

(#8) Opening Scene from 28 Weeks Later – I remember when my son Angel and I went to go see this movie way back in 2007. We were so excited. We expected something good, but man, those first ten minutes of this movie freaked this crap out of us. I don’t think either of us blinked or took a breath that whole time. If any of you haven’t seen this movie, watch it. The first ten minutes alone is worth it. From the feeling of being over whelmed by the horde of Walking Dead to the beautiful score composed by John Murphy, this is hands down, the best ten minutes of any zombie movie, anywhere. But then again, after that, this movie is just okay… barely.

(#7) Marvel Zombies – What can I say. Marvel Super Heroes (And villains) as Zombies! That is so F’N awesome! Throw in the fact that the Marvel Zombies are not only bad ass enough to take down the Silver Surfer, but are also awesome enough to devour the devourer of planets himself, Galactus. Wow. Talk about bad ass zombies. And for you comic fans, if you love the Marvel Zombies then make sure you pick up the book that started it all, the Ultimate Fantastic Four #21. Great, great read and hopefully, this may introduce you to the fantastic world of Marvel Comics.

(#6) Shaun of the Dead – Comedy met zombies and comedy won. Man, this movie, along with Zombieland showed everyone why a zombie apocalypse may be a frightening thing, but that still didn’t mean that you couldn’t fit in a chuckle here or there. From Shaun and his pals obsession with holding up at the Winchester Pub to their zombie pub fight set to the classic Queen song, “Bicycle Race” to Shaun and his group meeting their doppelgangers, man, this film had it all. Oh and did I mention, that you have red on you? What? Don’t get that reference? Then watch the movie, foo! This is Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at their best. Cheeri-o!

(#5) Dawn of the Dead remake – I know, I know. Most Zombie snobs hate this remake and instead prefer their beloved, pretentious crap fest that is the original. Well I’m not most zombie fans and I don’t like pretentious zombie movies, so there. The original Dawn of the Dead, while no offense to the great George Romero, was nothing, but a silly, failed attempt at social commentary mixed in with clown-like Bikers and very slow and dull pacing. And this film, while not an Oscar worthy attempt, at least gave us something to enjoy for what it was… a straight up, gory zombie movie with a dog named Chips. And besides… who can’t love a zombie movie that stars perennial good Dad Phil Dunphy of Modern Family as a douche bag, executive type? Oh and did i mention the zombie baby? Sounds like good times to me.

(#4) Left 4 Dead Video Games – I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee these games. From the first time I saw the extended trailer for this game, I just knew that zombie games would never be the same. The heroes were perfectly placed, from the lovely Zoey to the cranky Francis to the whiny Louis to the old vet Bill; there was a character for everyone. This game was a simple shoot ’em up, keep running, and pray for a quick death type of zombie game that us fans not only wanted, but needed. There were Boomers and Tanks and scary ass Witches that chased you down like the Cat Lady on Bath Salts. This was a game for the adrenaline junkie. Not convinced? Check this out.

(#3) World War Z the Book – Brace yourself, but the best book that I have ever read is hands down this Max Brooks classic, “World War Z.” Now before you even say, “Why should I read the book when I can just watch it on Netflix?”, that Brad Pitt snoozer is NOTHING like the book. The book chronicles the Zombie outbreak from beginning to the end in such a way that you almost feel like this future (and present) is ours. Here’s an excerpt from the book that I really love:

“I found “Patient Zero” behind the locked door of an abandoned house across town. He was twelve years old. His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds,not on the gouges on his legs or arms, or from the large dry gap where his right big toe had been. He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was “cursed.” I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was as cold and gray as the cement on which he lay. I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse. His eyes were wild, wide and sunken back in their sockets. They remained locked on me like a predatory beast. Throughout the examination he was inexplicably hostile, reaching for me with his bound hands and snapping at me through his gag. His movements were so violent I had to call for two of the largest villagers to help me hold him down. Initially they wouldn’t budge, cowering in the doorway like baby rabbits. I explained that there was no risk of infection if they used gloves and masks. When they shook their heads, I made it an order, even though I had no lawful authority to do so. That was all it took. The two oxen knelt beside me. One held the boy’s feet while the other grasped his hands. I tried to take a blood sample and instead extracted only brown, viscous matter. As I was withdrawing the needle, the boy began another bout of violent struggling. One of my “orderlies,” the one responsible for his arms, gave up trying to hold them and thought it might safer if he just braced them against the floor with his knees. But the boy jerked again and I heard his left arm snap. Jagged ends of both radius and ulna bones stabbed through his gray flesh.Although the boy didn’t cry out, didn’t even seem to notice, it was enough for both assistants to leap back and run from the room. I instinctively retreated several paces myself. I am embarrassed to admit this; I have been a doctor for most of my adult life. I was trained and…you could even say “raised” by the People’s Liberation Army. I’ve treated more than my share of combat injuries, faced my own death on more than one occasion, and now I was scared, truly scared, of this frail child.

The boy began to twist in my direction, his arm ripped completely free. Flesh and muscle tore from one another until there was nothing except the stump. His now free right arm, still tied to the severed left hand, dragged his body across the floor.I hurried outside, locking the door behind me. I tried to compose myself, control my fear and shame. My voice still cracked as I asked the villagers how the boy had been infected. No one answered. I began to hear banging on the door, the boy’s fist pounding weakly against the thin wood. It was all I could do not to jump at the sound. I prayed they would not notice the color draining from my face. I shouted, as much from fear as frustration,that I

had to know what happened to this child. A young woman came forward, maybe his mother. You could tell that she had been crying for days; her eyes were dry and deeply red. She admitted that it had happened when the boy and his father were “moon fishing,” a term that describes diving for treasure among the sunken ruins of the Three Gorges Reservoir. With more than eleven hundred abandoned villages, towns, and even cities, there was always the hope of recovering something valuable. It was a very common practice in those days, and also very illegal. She explained that they weren’t looting, that it was their own village, Old Dachang, and they were just trying to recover some heirlooms from the remaining houses that hadn’t been moved. She repeated the point, and I had to interrupt her with promises not to inform the police. She finally explained that the boy came up crying with a bite mark on his foot. He didn’t know what had happened, the water had been too dark and muddy. His father was never seen again.”

Wow. Simply wow.

(2) Resident Evil Game Series – With all due respect to Left4Dead, Dead Rising, and Dead Island, the Resident Evil series is the best Zombie video game series ever. There’s zombies, dark mansions, huge monsters, mazes, and more twists and turns than any game I can think of. Add to the fact they they also have a movie franchise and bam! This “King of the Zombie” game genre stands alone at the top of the mountain (of human corpses.) There are so many reasons to list why this is the number two entry, but I’ll just leave you with one: Jill Valentine. She of big boob, big gun, bad ass female zombie killer who used to be a Raccoon City STARS officer. Man, she is so hot!

(#1) The Walking Dead – October 31st, 2010. Do you remember that Halloween? If you’re a true Zombie fan then of course you do, cause everyone knows where they were the night the Walking Dead first came on our screen. I was on my couch like a giddy school girl, oohing and awing at everything that came on my TV screen. And this show has gone on to be one of my all time favorite TV shows thanks in part to not only the Zombies, but moments like the Sophia reveal, the zombies versus the tank, the Farmhouse ending, the Prison ending, and the oh so many deaths. And there’s the villains, no not the zombies, but the human villains like Merle, Daryl’s red neck, racist brother, and the Governor, no not Arnold, but Phillip Blake, the most vile man in all of Walking Dead world. He’s raped, maimed, killed his own people, and even beheaded a beloved character. I hate this guy! Trust me. The Zombie genre was taken to a whole other level with the introduction of this series.

Now in case you didn’t know, you can catch this show on AMC. It is returning on Sunday, October 12th. So be there to watch, cause I know I will.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

What? You thought I was going to forget to mention the book that started it all? Come on now! Any good comic/zombie fan knows that this didn’t start off as a show, but as a comic book by Robert Kirkman way back in October, 2013. Don’t believe me? Check this cover out.

The Walking Dead comic Book is dare I say, more violent and gory and has more balls than the TV show. Don’t believe me? Man, this book…

(SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!)

…this book killed off Glenn in the most violent way, killed off Lori while she was holding Judith, beheaded Tyrese, Rick loses his hand, a Prison Serial Killer who murders to little twin girls, Carl loses an eye, and even had the Governor having his way sexually with Michonne. Wow. Interested? Then buy the comics! Go, go, go!!!!!!!!!!!

So thanks for reading and remember… Zombies were once human too so show them some love!

Published by johnnyspruce

I'm basically a comic book geek, Dodger fan, Star Wars junkie, Old Wrestling lover, and movie nut all rolled into one. Oh... and screen writing is my passion. Once I get that agent, life will be great!
I'm also a father of a 19 year old boy who wrestles at his community college and at the moment, I sell large appliances for a living here in Montebello, CA.
My Movie is Scream, My Favorite TV Show ever was Arrested Development, and my favorite all time song is Freedom 90 by George Michael.
Favorite Comic Book I own is easily house of Secrets #92, the first Swamp Thing and my favorite cover of all time is the Uncanny X-Men 268 cover.
My favorite Baseball team are the Dodgers and best moment ever was the Kirk Gibson home run in the 88 World Series.
I love Star Wars and the X-Files and the Walking Dead is a guilty pleasure of mine.
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